Hong Kong Shares May Reverse Thursday's Losses

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market turned lower again on Thursday, one day after ending the two-day slide in which it had tumbled more than 640 points or 2.6 percent. The Hang Seng Index now sits just above the 25,530-point plateau although it's expected to rebound on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild upside on optimism over earnings news, although weakness from the technology and oil companies may limit the upside. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mostly in the green and the Asian markets figure to follow that lead.

The Hang Seng finished barely lower on Thursday following mixed performances from the technology, property, financial and energy companies.

For the day, the index slipped 10.27 points or 0.04 percent to finish at 25,530.51 after trading between 25,471.50 and 25,801.34.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group stumbled 1.70 percent, while Alibaba Health Info plummeted 3.95 percent, ANTA Sports declined 1.29 percent, China Life Insurance contracted 1.18 percent, China Mengniu Dairy fell 0.90 percent, China Resources Land eased 0.07 percent, CITIC improved 0.84 percent, CNOOC dropped 0.57 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical skidded 1.03 percent, Galaxy Entertainment surrendered 1.67 percent, Haier Smart Home sank 0.54 percent, Hang Lung Properties added 0.45 percent, Henderson Land jumped 1.74 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas increased 0.57 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 0.49 percent, JD.com shed 0.44 percent, Lenovo plunged 2.67 percent, Li Auto tumbled 1.65 percent, Li Ning retreated 1.37 percent, Meituan rallied 1.50 percent, New World Development tanked 2.08 percent, Nongfu Spring slumped 0.73 percent, Techtronic Industries climbed 1.10 percent, Xiaomi Corporation advanced 0.96 percent and WuXi Biologics lost 0.30 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic as the major averages opened mixed but trended steadily higher as the day progressed.

The Dow jumped 646.26 points or 1.34 percent to finish at a record 48,704.01, while the NASDAQ dipped 60.30 points or 0.25 percent to close at 23,593.86 and the &P 500 rose 14.32 points or 0.21 percent to end at 6,901.00.

The surge by the Dow reflected a spike by shares of Visa (V) after Bank of American upgraded its rating on the stock to Buy from Neutral. Strong gains by Nike (NKE), UnitedHealth (UNH) and American Express (AXP) also contributed to the jump by the blue chip index.

On the other hand shares of Oracle (ORCL) weighed on the NASDAQ after the company reported fiscal Q2 earnings that beat estimates but on weaker than expected revenues - reflecting renewed valuation concerns.

On the U.S. economic front, the Labor Department said first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rebounded more than expected last week.

Crude oil prices dropped on Thursday on oversupply concerns even as OPEC prepares to pause output hikes in early 2026. West Texas Intermediate crude for January delivery was down $0.88 or 1.51 percent at $57.58 per barrel.